Is It Possible To Prevent Weight Gain As You Age?

The lived years bring us not only experience and wisdom but in some cases, also increased weight. Yes, weight gain is usually associated with age. And it doesn’t matter if you are a supporter of a healthy diet or eat fast food. In any case, sooner or later, you will notice an unwanted increase in weight

If throughout your life you tried to control your weight and struggled with extra pounds, you should know that after 40 years you should pay even more attention to this. Indeed, at this age, new factors appear that directly affect the functioning of your body and cause weight gain. Therefore, unfortunately, the old strategies would stop working.

If you are one of the lucky ones who have never been bothered by extra pounds, we advise you to start controlling this issue too. After all, weight gain happens unexpectedly when you least expect it. We can say one thing with certainty just eating right and exercising is no longer enough to maintain your weight. You need additional measures too. Read about them in our article!

The Older You Get, The Easier It Is To Gain Weight

A sedentary lifestyle, hormonal imbalance, as well as numerous diets that you have practiced throughout your life, and so make it much more difficult to maintain a normal weight. And after 40 years it becomes even more difficult.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) warns that it is at this age that metabolism begins to slow down. This means that with the same load, on average, you burn 300 fewer calories than at 20 years old. Add to this life’s problems, the eternal lack of time for yourself, family obligations, work, and often a complete unwillingness to take care of your health. Therefore, give up bad habits and follow the right preventive measures to stay fit.

Give Up Alcohol Abuse

Frequent consumption of alcohol leads to weight gain at any age, especially when you get older. This happens because alcohol triggers hunger hormones and makes a person eat more than usual. Secondly, alcohol is rich in calories.

Thus, making it difficult for a person to burn more calories than consumed, leading to weight gain. Whether you are a man or a woman, alcohol destroys the health of everyone without any discrimination. You must get help from an addiction expert to quit alcoholism and restore your overall health.

However, if you are not comfortable getting treatment in rehab for both genders, you can easily find rehabs that provide treatment to women only. So if you are also suffering from addiction, pursuing women alcohol treatment will help you overcome it in a comfortable environment. Quitting addiction will help you stay fit and healthy.

Sarcopenia: Less Muscle, More Fat

There are many reasons why weight increases with age. It’s not your fault, it’s a natural process. However, certain steps are still worth taking. First of all, weight gain begins due to certain changes occurring in the body over the years, known as sarcopenia. This is a physiological process, as a result of which the proportion of muscle mass gradually decreases.

From the age of 30, a person can lose 3 to 5% of muscle mass every 10 years of life. That is why after 40 years your body burns fewer calories than in 30 years. As you know, muscles consume more energy than fat. This is the main explanation for weight gain.

Decreased Hormone Production

The older a person gets, the more important hormones become. This happens because, in both men and women, the production of hormones decreases with age. Despite the fact that menopause in women occurs after 50, starting from the age of 35, an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone can be observed.

The first hormone is responsible for the production of fat cells, and the latter opposes this process. After age 35, the body begins to produce less progesterone. Due to this imbalance, a set of extra pounds often occurs.

On the other hand, in men after 30 years of age, testosterone levels decrease by about 1% per year. It is this hormone that is responsible for maintaining a normal weight. Therefore, men are also prone to this problem.

How To Avoid Weight Gain With Age?

Next, we will share with you the secrets of how to maintain a slim figure after 40 years. We also advise you not to neglect the help of a professional nutritionist and fitness trainer in order to fully control the situation.

It is necessary to direct efforts to maintain muscle mass. Remember that adipose tissue burns fewer calories than muscle. Therefore, it is important to do strength exercises aimed at maintaining and increasing muscle tissue.
Include protein-rich foods in your diet. This element is necessary for muscle recovery.
Pay attention to the calorie content of foods. Reduce the number of sweets, pastries, and convenience foods.
It’s not about a strict diet, you don’t need it. Just try to stick to a balanced diet. Look for healthy food recipes, and if you have to eat out, choose vegetable dishes. Proper eating habits are the key to a slim figure.

As you can see, the solution to the problem is not so difficult to find. If you already eat right, then continue in the same spirit. Just pay more attention to it. Starting from a certain age, it is important to limit the proportion of processed foods in the diet, as well as increase the amount of protein. After all, the body becomes more prone to the accumulation of fat, and hence to weight gain.

If you go to the gym regularly, add more strength training to your training plan. If you take care of your health, then age will not become an obstacle to an active life! So start focusing on your health from today, before it gets too late.